the best of 2010

20122010

It’s been a while since I posted on this page, but I’ve been brainstorming and now I’ve figured out interesting ways to keep you updated with me in 2011. [Considering the point of me starting this was to talk about the search for a real job… and I got it a few weeks later.]

But it’s been a pretty crazy year for me. Both 2009 and 2010 brought me incredible life changing opportunities and it’s only right that I reflect on the past 12 months in a way that I’ll always be able to look back and remember.

These are my top 10 moments of 2010.

10. Getting my stilts

I’m not lying when I say these things are my favorite thing that I own. They’re epic. I was doing my radio show when they arrived and couldn’t wait to try them on. I had been wanting these suckers for 5 years or more and finally I was going to be able to flip around and do cool tricks….. Or so I thought. We all know how it ended:

9. MTV TJ commercial

When the TV is on in the background as you work and you suddenly hear your name as a front-runner of the competition you’re working so hard at, you’ll probably think it’s a dream. My friends started texting me saying they were crying from excitement, and it hadn’t even sunk in yet. Then it happened again. I can’t even explain in words how I felt as I rewinded and played it again and again. I was ecstatic, of course, but I was also terrified. It meant I had a lot to live up to and I couldn’t let my momentum or success fall. I couldn’t let it jinx me…. but man, the butterflies were goin’ hard in my stomach.

8. Raini and Rico in studio

I’m a HUGE fan of Modern Family, so when I found out that “Manny,” AKA Rico, was from my new home, and his uncle was my taxi driver, I did everything in my power to get him in studio the next time he was in town. I was successful! It was my first in person, big time interview and they were both awesome. We played my new favorite thing to do- Truth or Dare, and even ate some crickets.

7. My goodbye party

My friends in the DMV know better than anyone that my motto is “work hard, play harder.” I wasn’t going to leave town without an epic bang. One night was spent at my favorite place- McFadden’s. I practically owned that place. [Or so I’d like to think.] The next day everyone I knew came to my house for a crazy daylong party that lasted well into the night and ended with people passing out all over the house. As fun as everything was, it was more about the amount of people that came by to see me off and remind me of how brave I am for making such a big move [still don’t know how I grew the cajones to do such a thing, but I’m pretty freakin’ proud of myself]. I have some of the best friends a girl could ask for.

6. Flying out for an interview in College Station

Before April, I had never been further west than Morgantown, WV. I had never traveled further than Florida, and that was less than a handful of times. Beyond that, I had been applying for jobs all over the country for almost a year, with no real bites. I had a feeling from the moment I saw the ad for the job that this would be my new home. I knew it before I even had the interview. The night after my interview and everything I did to meet everyone at the station, I walked along University Avenue alone, just taking everything in and preparing myself for the move. Sure, I didn’t know for a fact that the job was mine, but like I said, I had a feeling.

5. The MTV TJ Finale

Never, ever will I forget the journey that MTV took me on this summer. I’ll never forget the other 19 people who ran by my side or the hundreds of you that supported me. The finale gave me closure with the whole competition, but also allowed me to meet so many amazing people from all over the country [and Sway!]. The show was beautiful and just knowing I was a part of it, even if I wasn’t on that stage, was amazing.

4. The rejection

Well, I never really got a call to let me know that I didn’t make the top 5 of MTV TJ, but just like with my job here, I had a feeling it wasn’t meant to be for whatever reason. When all of us figured it out the night before, I sat in my bed crying, video chatting with the other rejects, drinking a bottle of wine [that I woke up to empty in my bed the next morning]. It was the most severe heartbreak I have ever felt in my entire life, and it’s actually pretty hard to relive in my head right now. The next morning was pretty hard considering the headache I had and the official announcement that confirmed everything, but it was my boss here that made everything better. By the end of the day my desk was covered in balloon animals, and I couldn’t help but smile.

3. Live Chat on MTV

After working my ass off on everything Real World: DC related, and hearing all these great things people at MTV were apparently saying about me, it was incredible to finally see it all publicly recognized on MTV.com as I hosted a live chat right there on their website. More than 900 people came in to chat with me and all my fellow RWDC gurus and cast members. The high after the success of the chat was so great that I had to go out and get a Slurpee to let it all sink in. Chris Wiggins and I thought we were practically about to take over the world after that.

2. The MTV TJ call

I had been in Texas for one weekend. That’s it. Then I get a call that I had dreamed of getting my entire life, offering me a shot at my dream job with MTV in NYC. At first, I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it. What the heck would I tell my new bosses?! [Thankfully some industry friends talked some sense into me.] Just as I thought this would be a rather slow transition into a new town, I had to break the ice and dive in head first thanks to someone at MTV thinking I was a little entertaining.

1. The call that I got the job

The biggest, most life-changing call I have ever received happened as I was on my way to the station in DC after leaving my job at the restaurant. It was so matter of fact. “You want the job?” “Sure!” “Okay, see ya in two weeks!” Literally. That’s pretty much how it went. I immediately pulled off the highway and started texting all my radio friends, crying happy tears. When I had to make the call to the boy and my brother, the tears turned to sad ones. It was the craziest mix of emotions I’ve ever had. I had prepared myself for the move, but not this moment. There was no way I could have. Thankfully the excitement outweighed the sadness as I told my parents I was finally making their dreams come true and becoming a big girl, and my dad replied with “oh no.”

As always, I wish I could go on and on about my year and all the amazing things that happened, but that would defeat the purpose of “Top 10” lists. Plus, why waste my time if no one cares enough to read a word of this? I’ll just leave myself and all of us with a slideshow of my favorite pictures from the year. And also with one final thank you of 2010. Thank you for being my rock, my motivation, my everything. Without any of my blogs, I don’t know where I’d be today. And if I didn’t have you, I wouldn’t have my blogs.

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One response

20122010

Mike(07:53:19) :

I am going to contradict your last statement. It is interesting to look back at someone’s major life changes and how they handled it, whether it was good or bad. The fact you got a following in Texas in a short period of time speaks volumes about where you career will take you.